Q&A: Sleigh Bells singer Alexis Krauss

Sleigh Bells

It'll be nice to see the duo get a second chance to wow Pitchfork fans two years after playing the fest, this time with more material (from this year's crowd-pleasing sophomore record "Reign of Terror") and a bigger stage. Why the band isn't slotted for an after-dark set is beyond me, since...

It'll be nice to see the duo get a second chance to wow Pitchfork fans two years after playing the fest, this time with more material (from this year's crowd-pleasing sophomore record "Reign of Terror") and a bigger stage. Why the band isn't slotted for an after-dark set is beyond me, since...

By Matt PaisRedEye Sound Board

In 2010, Sleigh Bells rode a gargantuan wave of hype to a day-ending set at the Pitchfork Music Fest. And delivered a performance that singer Alexis Krauss calls “mediocre.”

“What I heard is that people were really frustrated because it was pretty quiet,” says Krauss, who performs with Sleigh Bells on a bigger stage Saturday night, July 14 at Pitchfork 2012. “I think we were plagued by the usual complications that can plague a new band ... Unfortunately, you have to make those mistakes in front of 5,000 people to learn that you really can’t make those mistakes again. I’m really looking forward to being back there this time around and kind of redeeming ourselves and obviously playing a more cohesive, longer, better set.

Of course, plenty of buzz bands (insert obligatory Clap Your Hands Say Yeah reference) fall into the here-today, gone-tomorrow trap. Sleigh Bells, however, which blends jagged guitars, electronic/hip-hop beats and Krauss’ sugar-sweet vocals into knife-stuffed sonic cotton candy, maintained its relevance by not only delivering a terrific debut (2010’s “Treats”) but following it up with a record nearly as exciting, this year’s “Reign of Terror.”

By phone from New York, Krauss, 26, talked about performing as if it were a “competitive sport,” discovering new music and how new bands can thrive at Pitchfork.

You say that you and guitarist/producer Derek Miller are now more confident on stage. How do you think that’s evident from the audience’s perspective?When we go on stage now, we’re going onstage with a lot more intentions than we ever have. When I go on stage I almost see it as me playing a competitive sport. I don’t want that to sound obnoxious, but I go out thinking, “It’s my job to win over this audience. It’s my job to give them the best possible show, that they’ve paid to come see.” I feel this really intense, self-imposed pressure that I have the power to make it be the best show it can be. Whereas before I thought of my role as being much more passive, kind of like, “Well, we’ll see how this goes, and hopefully it’ll go well.” Whereas now I feel much more in control and Derek feels the same. We go out there with much more confidence. Obviously we’re fortunate to have more fans. We have more people coming out to see our shows now because they enjoy our music and not so much because they’ve heard about this buzz band and they want to go see what’s up with them. We had a lot of that in the beginning, which was great, because that’s how people decide whether or not they like you, but I think now people come to see us because they really want to and they’re really looking forward to it … we’re really fortunate to have people that are devoted to us and interested in us.

Speaking of which, how do you look back on those early days of buzz—it seems silly to call two or three years ago the “early days”—as far as something you’ve learned and something you look back on now and laugh?[Laughs] I feel like we weathered the storm pretty well. We chose not to really engage our negative press. We always chose to rise above it and say, “keep our focus on the music and keep our focus on whatever creative output we were putting out there.” Obviously I think when you’re a young band and things go well for you you’re forced to make your mistakes in public. You don’t really have a chance to become really great performers while performing in front of 10 people. You’re suddenly opening up for LCD Soundsystem for example and you may not be deserving of opening for LCD Soundsystem at all. [Laughs] But suddenly you’re there and you’re doing it and you have to go through the embarrassment of feeling unprepared. So we had moments like that where I think we had some growing pains, but overall Derek and I, we both had a lot of prior experience in the music industry, and we didn’t say yes to every opportunity that came our way just because somebody told us it was a good opportunity. We were very discriminating. I think we saved ourselves a lot of the … frustrations that I know a lot of people go through. I guess my overall point is that I don’t really have many regrets. I think we’ve developed relatively gracefully considering the circumstances and we’ve always stayed focused on just improving and getting better.

Do you think people should have the notion of buzz bands working out the kinks when going to a fest like Pitchfork that aims to expose some newer acts?People have high expectations, and that’s good. I don’t think that people should ever lower their expectations because a band is new or a band is young. I really think it’s up to the artist to not put themselves in a position where they are going to embarrass themselves or they’re going to feel like they’ve failed. I really think that’s more the artist’s responsibility. When a fan is paying money to see a band they should receive a certain level of quality. So I think the pressure is much more on the artist and it’s less about compromising expectations as a consumer of music. But that being said, I think people can be extremely cruel. I think people need to stay focused more on the music and less on pettiness of Internet gossip or what a particular person looks like or is wearing or whatever.

What do you think drives the discovery of new music these days? I was reading old interviews with you and in one from 2010 you talked about acclaim you had before you even had a MySpace page. These days you don’t hear many bands talking about their MySpace page.I think it’s dominantly blogs. Blogs and independent radio stations. Stations like Sirius and college radio. I found out about most of my new music from sites like Pitchfork or Stereogum just because it’s the easiest way. You can go on Pitchfork and you can generally trust what they think is good or relevant or exciting. I’m fortunate to be a touring musician so I get to see a lot of new bands. Whether it’s because our friends are having them support them or because they’re supporting us. That’s one of the most exciting things about touring so much is that we always have to have an opener and Derek and I are constantly listening to new artists … I think it’s word of mouth. It’s going to shows. It’s seeing people open. It’s reading blogs. In one way it’s very difficult to get your music heard by people because there’s just so much music, but on the other end it’s like all you really need is for the right person to hear you or for you to open for the right band or be at the right show. It’s so easy to get that platform. It’s kind of a double-edged sword. It really takes a little bit of luck to get the opportunity that you really need to be able to make the music that you want to make.

What’s a music fest no-no as far as you’re concerned?An artist no-no or a fan no-no?

Either? Both?[Laughs] Let me think. I would say our no-no is—when possible, we never play while the sun is out. [Laughs] I think playing mid-day in the heat is probably one of the worst things you can possibly do. Obviously, you have to do it sometimes because that’s the only slot that you can get. But I know when I see bands out there suffering in the midday heat I’m feeling equally as—there’s something obviously more exciting about seeing bands at night and they can have their lights and they can do their show properly. I would say if you’re an artist, fight for those post-sunset slots. [Laughs] Because I think they’re always better. In terms of the fans, I’ve seen kids that are like passed out in the middle of the field at 7 p.m., so I would say pace yourself.

When the weekend is over, between bands like you and Japandroids and Wild Flag and Iceage, who will have ears still ringing the most?There’s a lot of exciting bands there. I’m a big fan of Grimes. I like her a lot. We got to hang with her a bit in Barcelona at the Primavera Festival. I’m really looking forward to seeing what she continues to do. I think she’s an exciting artist. She has her head on properly. She’s super creative and dynamic. I’m looking forward to her set. I’m a big fan of Liturgy as well. I think it will probably be one of the first times for a lot of people to see them. They’re definitely a polarizing band. There’s going to be a lot of people that are just going to think it’s noise or are just going to think it’s not worth listening to, but I think there’s a lot of incredible melody in their music and I think Hunter’s voice is out of this world. I’m looking forward to those two … is Danny Brown playing at Pitchfork? I hear he’s really exciting. I’m looking forward to people seeing him and continuing on that upward trajectory.

Do you have any go-to devices to conjure the necessary energy onstage, and has there been a time when all that energy has intentionally or unintentionally stayed with you offstage?Yeah, it’s hard to come down from [shows]. You have all this adrenaline pumping and all this excitement. It’s a very emotional experience, whether it’s a really great show or a really bad show. You’re feeling a lot, everything’s really heightened. I kinda like bringing it offstage with me because when you’re touring that’s what you look forward to the entire day. Your entire day, it becomes a good or bad day based on how those 45 minutes on stage go. I like when my show colors the rest of the evening. I’m not a partier. When I’m on the road I try and stay super focused and healthy. I see going on stage as my job. And by that I don’t mean that it’s something that’s monotonous or mundane or associated with all the negative connotation of work. But it’s my job and I’ve got to do it damn well.

So the adrenaline happens naturally, not sitting in a closed room listening to “Eye of the Tiger” on repeat.We usually blast either Joan Jett really loud or it could be Def Leppard—we’ll blast our favorite records and just kind of jump around and dance or do jumping jacks. Derek and our touring guitar player will do like 50 push-ups. [Laughs] Whatever we need to do to get our hearts racing and feel strong and confident. We make strange noises. [Laughs] We just act like we’re getting ready for a pep rally or something.

If you had to give one piece of advice to a new band playing at Pitchfork, what would it be?I would say the best advice is you have to stay focused on making the music that you want to make and stay focused on making sure that that music is the best possible music that you can make. And as soon as you start letting other people’s ideas or opinions color and compromise your artistic integrity and your artistic ideas … you’re compromised. You’re letting something that shouldn’t be involved in your creative decision-making color your ideas. And that’s really dangerous. I think that’s really poisonous. You’ve gotta rise about the pressure and cynicism, especially in a world of buzz bands. You have to try to make yourself a lasting presence and you will be if your music is good. It’s not about the gossip. It’s not about what you tweet. It’s not about what you post on Facebook. It’s not about what you post on Instagram. It’s about making good records. I would say just stay focused on that and you’ll probably do all right.

You and Derek met when he served you and your mom at a restaurant he was working at. When you guys go out to eat now, how often do servers try to talk their way into joining the band?[Laughs] You know what, that’s the one and only time that’s ever happened to me. It was a very serendipitous experience. It was the one and only time my mom and I ever went to that restaurant. It just goes to show how quickly your life can change in one day from one [encounter] with one stranger. It was pretty magical.

Plus:On Chicago: “We went to this incredible restaurant last time we were there calledSchwa. You need a reservation months in advance but the guy who owns it hooked up a lot of the bands that were playing Pitchfork just because he’s a music fan. So we got to go there. I’m always on the quest for a really good Chicago hot dog as cliché as that sounds. I’ve also had some of the best Mexican food just as little taquerias and bakeries. Chicago’s a great city, and it’s a city that we unfortunately have not been able to spend tons of time in. so io’m just looking forward to being outside and enjoying it, riding my bike.”

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